Charles F Broome’s the best

Charles F Broome Primary have beaten all odds to win their first ever National Sports Council BICO-sponsored Primary Schools Football title with a 2-1 triumph over St Cyprian’s Boys.

The teams have met before in the preliminary round in zone seven where that contest ended in a draw. But in today’s final played at the National Stadium it was the lads from Government Hill who came from a goal down at half time to win the game led by the final’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Khalil Vanderpool-Nurse and captain Ethan Taylor who was declared the tournament’s MVP and best midfielder.

Charles F Broome won their first ever National Sports Council Primary Schools Football Competition.

The most exciting highlight of the day came from the third place game when Bay Primary were down 3-0 against Arthur Smith Primary and their captain Amir Gustave who claimed the most goals in the competition added more to his tally with four fantastic goals that led his side to a 4-3 victory. Both Charles F Broome and St Cyprian’s are first-time finalists and nothing can be taken away from either as they showed lots of determination and discipline to reach this far.

St Cyprian’s took an early lead in the 11th minute compliments striker Marcus Whittington who is no stranger to the tournament and began playing from Infants B. The ball was played up the field to Whittington who skillfully dribbled his way past three Charles F Broome defenders on his way to the box where he took a shot that hit the right top post and then bounced inside the goal bars.

Charles F Broome have played unbeaten in the competition and showed why pretty early in the second half, with Taylor on the ball running at St Cyprian’s defence. But it was Vanderpool-Nurse in the 22nd minute who scored the equalizer with a low flat shot from outside the 12-yard box to the left of St Cyprian’s goalkeeper Jireh Malcolm who was complacent by assuming the ball was going out and made no attempt to make the save.

What a celebration it was from Charles F Broome’s supporters that included students, parents and guardians who all came out in their numbers. Six minutes later and Yanni Marshall with a long-range shot assisted by the wind beat St Cyprian’s keeper Malcolm in the 28th minute.

halil Vanderpool-Nurse is all smiles as he receives his trophy for Most Valuable Player in the final from Wayne Robinson of the National Sports Council.

Coaches of the victorious team Emerson Webster and Alphonza King expressed that their historic moment felt like the Grand Slam. Webster said they came into the competition with a system which the boys stuck with throughout and therefore reaped the rewards of their efforts.

“They [Charles F Broome] began training from last year and the only time we varied from that was in the first half which is the first time for the season we have been behind. We said at half-time: ‘guys let’s get back to what has brought us success,’ and they came out there and we got the results we deserved,” said an elated Webster, who noted that 15 out of their 19 players were heading to secondary schools and therefore they had to rebuild in defence of their title next year.

Amir Gustave (second left) being congratulated by his players after scoring the winning goal. (Pictures by Morissa Lindsay)

As delightful as that final was the third place match perhaps was even more sweeter when Gustave who will be heading to Parkinson Memorial come September went into beast mode in one of the best comebacks in the NSC BICO football history to rescue his team Bay Primary with a 4-3 win. Bay Primary and Wesley Hall Primary scored the most goals in the preliminary rounds with 34 each.

Two early goals, compliments of Jaheim Wilson in the second and 18th minutes respectively and another in the 28th by Devon Bynoe, placed Arthur Smith in a commanding position. Then, suddenly, a lightning bolt by the name of Gustave struck and shattered all that the opposition had worked so hard for.

Arthur Smith defenders felt so comfortable with their 3-0 advantage, that they became lackadaisical which allowed Gustave to run onto the ball in the 29th minute and scored Bay Primary’s first goal of the match.

Goal number two came in the 12-yard box after Gustave was left unmarked yet again and he volleyed home inside the left of the goal bars. It was from that moment on that Bay Primary and Gustave really began to believe. The lad from the Bay Land went on in the 35th minute to complete his hat-trick when he ran through Arthur Smith’s defence and did the job with a clinical right instep finish.

The scores were tied 3-3 with a minute left to play when Arthur Smith with sloppy defending yet against allowed Michael Browne to steal the ball and pass to Gustave in position to bury it in the 39th minute.

Best defender was Fozlo Brewster of St Cyprian’s.

Other outstanding individual performances in the competition came from best goalkeeper Shane Carrington of Deacons Primary, best defender Fozlo Brewster of St Cyprian’s Boys’ and most outstanding female was Olianna Bishop of Vauxhall Primary. Most improved team went to St Alban’s Primary, most discipline school was Hill Top Preparatory and Fair Play was awarded to St Cyprian’s Boys’.

The statistics for this 2016 season are as follow with 302 games played, 45 drawn, average goals per game were 2.7 with a total of 814 goals scored and Half Moon Fort Primary scoring the most goals of 14 in one game.

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